Kathy Griffin Booed at the Apollo Theater - 'My Life on the D List'

I never before watched "Kathy Griffin - My Life on the D List," nor would I have even considered watching it. It's not that I don't appreciate Griffin's unique comedy; I'm simply not a fan of the Bravo network, save for the occasional "Law and Order: CI" rerun. It was quite shocking then to discover (while channel flipping) Miss Griffin sitting across from rapper T.I. at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles right smack dab in the middle of Hollywood.

My first inclination was to ask, "TI... you cheating on Tiny, bruh? And with a white woman!? Aw hell naw!" Thankfully, cheating was the last thing on his mind-despite what Griffin otherwise suggests.

I'm not exactly certain how their meeting came to pass, but I guarantee that it involved her show. Regardless, I had just become an instant "Kathy Griffin - My Life on the D List" fan. I mean seriously, how often do you catch TI and Kathy Griffin strolling together through Hollywood after dining on fried chicken at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles? This sort of stuff doesn't just happen everyday!

And believe me, the surprises had just begun. It just so happens that Kathy was intent on performing a standup routine at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater-known to host the most disparaging, disdainful, and mean-spirited crowd in the known universe. It's not that the audience is racist or bigoted, but rather that they harbor extremely high expectations. Plus, appealing to their sense of humor requires reaching across multiple generations: kids, parents, and grandparents alike. It's not an easy task for anybody to undertake, let alone ol' pasty-faced Kathy Griffin.

Realizing that she would need some form of assistance, Kathy sought out help from the one and only: Reverend Al Sharpton. Some accuse the Reverend of being a racist and hypocrite, but I reject these allegations-he is merely a man unafraid to stand up for that in which he believes. Suffice it to say, he was slightly alarmed by her plan, but graciously agreed to assist her by offering advice, as well as announcing her on the Apollo stage. And of course, he reminded her to not even THINK about uttering the n word. I doubt that she really needed to be warned though; I consider Kathy Griffin a fairly reasonable woman, albeit a bit loony like Looney Tune's Elmer Fudd.

Anyway. Later on that day, she met up with Al again-this time to 'appear' on his radio show, "The Al Sharpton Radio Show." Her goal was to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of her upcoming Apollo audience. Sadly, not a single caller phoned into the show to speak with her, despite her request (in the confessional at least) for any single gay black man to call in. Heck, even a telemarketer would have been welcome during the rather awkward wait that followed. Clearly, Kathy was not well equipped for the battle she was about to fight.

Fast forward hours or days (I couldn't tell) and Kathy finally made it onto the Apollo stage for an 'Amateur Night' routine, which definitely classifies her as a D-list celebrity. And remember how I previously mentioned the need to appeal to a multi-generational audience? Well, seeing primarily adults in the audience-the children were dispersed throughout the auditorium and hard to see due to the large parents-convinced her that it would be appropriate to submit a 'potty-mouth' joke about the Octomom's lips looking like pooty-tang lips (the actual word has been omitted). Naturally, Kathy's joke elicited a negative response; the audience went completely silent and the only sound that could be heard was from the band, who were diligently trying to signal for her to immediately exit the stage.

Upon withdrawing from the stage, she was greeted by the Apollo's insanely furious 'Amateur Night' manager, who sternly chastised her and then accused her of purposefully employing distasteful jokes. He was basically implying that she had done it to earn ratings for her show. In fact, so angered was the Apollo staff that Kathy and crew were forced to vacate the premises and soon after BANNED from ever returning. Thankfully, the Reverend took no offense to Kathy's bad joke, instead insisting that they're used to such things happening at the theater. To top it all off, an amused Katt Williams offered to hug her tight and console her poor, failed soul.

Ultimately, Kathy Griffin earned herself a new fan (myself), displayed a cool and collective relationship with the black community (e.g. Reverend Al Sharpton, Katt Willliams, T.I.), and most importantly, she proved that she really is a D List celebrity. I tell you what though-her 'lowly' status doesn't bother me and I sure hope that it doesn't bother her. Because at the end of the day, Griffin is a humble, down-to-Earth, and funny comedian unafraid to laugh at herself and better yet, make a complete fool out of herself-not to mention get booed off from the most famous stage in America. Good luck next time! Oh wait...you're banned. Oh well. All is well that ends well!